Page 4 of Cruise

Willa held on to Cruise and relaxed for the first time in days. In no time, it seemed Cruise was pulling off the road and going through an opened gate. He drove slowly through onto a flattened area of earth by what looked like a racetrack. He flipped the kickstand down and held his hand out to help her off. After she’d gotten off, he moved off the bike and slid the gate back closed and locked it. Taking her hand, he led her beside the racetrack over to a large tree.

He sat down leaning against the tree, then pulled her down between his knees and wrapped his arms around her.

“I apologize for the way I got us here, but the sisters would have never given us a minute to ourselves if we had stayed there, and I had to talk to you.”

Although Cruise said he had to talk to her, he wasn’t saying anything, but she didn’t care. She’d imagined Cruise’s arms around her millions of times, but this was so much better than her imagination.

She closed her eyes and inhaled Cruise’s scent of clean male and motor oil. She’d caught a little bit of sleep last night at the Bluff Creek Brotherhood MC’s Texas Clubhouse but she was still exhausted. Her shoulders ached from the stress. Flying had always been her escape and relaxed her but the flight from Texas to Kansas hadn’t been relaxing.

She only hoped by coming here she’d find the help she needed to stay safe. Cruise’s lips brushed a kiss against the top of her head. The breeze had a bit of a chill in it. She was glad she’d worn long sleeves because Kansas in December was chillier than Texas. She shivered and Cruise’s arms tightened around her then he sat farther up. He slid his vest off, laying it carefully on the ground, then tugged his sweatshirt over his head. He leanedher forward, holding the sweatshirt open so she could slide her head and arms through. After making sure she was snuggled in, he shrugged his vest back on and leaned back, cuddling her close to him. She breathed in his scent which lingered on the sweatshirt.

“I’ve been thinking about you since I got out of the military but I was too chickenshit to check on you. My biggest fear was that you’d be happily settled down with some guy and I’d have to face I missed my chance.”

Willa started to turn toward Cruise. He let her turn toward him but then steered her head onto his shoulder.

“Let me get this out. Then you can talk. Willa, thinking you could be taken from me before I got a chance to tell you how I feel clarified things for me. I love you. I think I’ve loved you since we all played that game of twenty questions. Everything about you tugged at my heart but I couldn’t see past the obstacle of me staying in the service. I missed you like crazy the last two years.”

Cruise’s words gave her hope but she couldn’t let him take all the blame for them not being together. Willa leaned up, laying her fingers across his lips. “It wasn’t all you, Cruise. I couldn’t see past you being on deployment and me trying to exist at home alone.”

Cruise’s eyes caught hers and Willa saw the tears and heartache in his eyes.

“Yeah, but if we would have been together, maybe I could have stopped what happened to you.”

Willa shook her head at his words. The only thing it probably would have done was have Cruise and his team sent into danger.

“We can’t change what happened. Do I wish it wouldn’t have? Hell, yeah but we don’t get to pick our path. We just navigate the journey to the best of our ability. Maybe it wasn’t the way we chose to find each other again but I’m not going to whineabout landing my helicopter and seeing the man I loved striding toward me and tossing me over his shoulder.”

Cruise chuckled, “Yeah, I’m sure I’m going to hear about it.”

“Hear about it? From the guys?”

“Oh, not just the guys. When you become a part of the Bluff Creek Brotherhood MC, you get a family. And not just any family. One that will fight for you. And the women are as fierce and badass as the men. You’ll fit right in, Brave Heart.”

Willa laid her head against Cruise’s shoulder, relishing his arms around her. A family who’d fight for her sounded perfect. Letting someone else shoulder some of the load was perfect.

“Why are you calling me Brave Heart?”

“When War told me yesterday who was in danger, it felt like I’d been struck. The thought of you going through that broke my heart but I realized you’re so strong. Hurricane is everyone else’s name for you and, honestly? I used it to try to keep you at a distance when we served. I needed something that was ours alone and illustrated how very strong you are. You’ve got this huge heart which I saw while we were serving when you’d try to help the ones who were homesick but at the same time, you are the bravest woman I know. I hate that you kept quiet but I am in awe of your strength. My Willa, my Brave Heart, I promise if you give this old guy a chance, I’ll always be a safe place for you from the storms of life.”

Willa analyzed Cruise’s words. One thing she’d known about Cruise, and she’d seen demonstrated multiple times, was he was a good man. At his core, his protective nature took care of everyone around him.

If she could have imagined the perfect place for her, Cruise would have been at the center of it, but she’d never thought it was possible. She wished she’d known he’d left the Army.

“In your arms is where I’ve always wanted to be. I was surprised to see you here. I saw Slice. Are the rest of the guys here with you? Did you all leave at the same time?”

Cruise’s arms tightened as he trembled against her. “Slice and I are the only ones left. Our unit walked into an ambush. I’m still not sure how Slice and I survived.”

Willa turned all the way around, laying her hand against Cruise’s face. “I’m sorry for your loss. I know they were your brothers.”

The last two weeks had shown her that life was too short to second guess anything. She leaned closer, laying her lips against Cruise’s, absorbing his scent, the taste of his lips and realizing this moment, this man, was exactly where she was supposed to be. She was home.

Chapter Four

Willa walked into the clubhouse with Cruise holding her hand. She’d met the women and men of the MC last night and they were working on a plan to find the captain. After the meeting, Cruise had taken her to the house they were staying in.

Although she’d slept in his arms, they hadn’t had sex. He’d kissed her senseless and then told her he wanted her awake the first time they came together. He’d seen her exhaustion and put her health ahead of himself. If she hadn’t already been in love with the man, that would have cemented it.

Instead, he’d settled her on his shoulder and ran his fingers through her hair until she’d fallen asleep. This morning, he’d informed her they were to meet and have breakfast at the clubhouse. He’d shooed her into the bathroom to shower and he’d showered in the guest bathroom. When she’d inquired why, he said he wanted hours not minutes the first time they were together.

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